The Right Gear for the Right Result
The Right Mix is an Individual Choice I just finished talking to another potential client who had a slide down the highway due to someone else’s negligence. Happily, it seems that this crash resulted in relatively minor injuries. I can’t tell you how enthusiastic the rider was about the way that his helmet and gloves performed. Safety gear is an individual thing. There are no real US standards, only European ones. There is plenty of dispute about what works, and in what situation. Nothing is designed specifically for accidents that involve motorcycles and impact with cars or impact from cars. Some situations can arise where excellent track gear can actually make an injury from a crash with a car worse. Safety gear doesn’t help, unless you wear it. Some great gear can make you so warm that it can affect your ability to think clearly. It is also a matter of personal preference. After all, there are no standards or requirements in the US other than for helmets. Anything you choose to wear is just that, a choice. On the other hand, there is a lot of conflicting information out there. New technology complicates the picture. Now there are several companies making air bag suits. Real data is scarce. The manufacturers, of course, all believe they have the answer to everything. Time will tell. Even there, the data collection is poor. Real studies are few and far between. Motorcyclists discuss these issues through a pipeline with other riders. With motorcycle magazines, maybe a consensus arises. Until things become clearer, I will continue to periodically review and report bits and pieces on protective gear. So will others. In the meantime, we will all make our individual choices, and report our individual experiences. How different this is from the many available governmental and private studies that report on safety devices for the drivers of automobiles.
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The Right Gear for the Right Result